ADVANCES IN Telehealth: The best ways to engage with patients using different mediums

ADVANCES IN Telehealth: The best ways to engage with patients using different mediums

Use Internet & Mobile Technology to Gain Productivity The aging population and an increased focus on health are two trends driving a surge in the demand for healthcare. Medical professionals and organizations are struggling to staff up to meet demands at the same time as they shift more tasks and responsibilities from doctors to nurses. Adapting to this new environment will require more efficient means of communication with patients in order to serve more people in less time. The family doctor and the telephone appeared together on the stage of American history and are still closely correlated. For the past century and a half, phones have been used primarily for contact and appointments rather than information or follow-up. Pagers and faxes ramped up efficiency tremendously and now medical professionals are just beginning to see the same productivity gains using the Internet and mobile technology. 1

Options for Telehealth Patients have already adopted this new technology and expect the same from their healthcare providers. A recent survey determined that people want their doctors to contact them proactively through channels like text, emails and smartphone alerts even when they are healthy. Half of respondents said that a text, email or app that provided health tips could have helped them avoid a health problem. Nearly 70 percent said they wanted but did not receive a text or email with discharge info, access to electronic health resources or a reminder for an upcoming appointment. Vance Clipson, healthcare market manager for Varolii, put the problem in perspective: This is a huge problem for the healthcare industry, costing an estimated $300 billion annually. Healthcare providers have an opportunity to positively impact health and reduce costs with something as simple as a text message. Mobile devices that access the web by Wi-Fi or cellular networks now reach every corner of the globe. It is estimated that there are more active mobile accounts than there are people in the world. One thing we know is that at least a third of the world s population is now connected to the Internet in some way and more than 60 percent of them are searching for healthcare information online. This gives medical professionals many new avenues for lowering communications costs and increasing their revenue while improving the quality of the care they offer. Over the past two decades since the HIPPA laws passed, healthcare providers have been struggling to adapt to the new technological requirements. There is a great deal of room for increased efficiencies because 63 percent of healthcare providers still use fax as their primary means of communication. In comparison, only 33 percent regularly use a laptop, 20 percent use a smartphone and 12 percent use an ipad in their practices. These new tools open up many more options for communicating with patients to reduce office visits. Here are more options for communication tools that can reduce operating costs and serve more patients remotely. 2

Phone Text Email Telephone and Text: Phone messaging can be used for a great deal more than two-way appointment setting and call routing. Many times, phone calls have to be cut short due to other pressing matters. Patients often retain less than half of what they learn during office visits and the same applies to phone calls. Putting the information in a recorded message that can be repeated keeps the information fresh in the patient s mind. Other patients prefer to have the information in writing, sent by a text to their mobile phone so they have it wherever they go. More communication options helps save time for both doctors and patients, eliminating the need for some office visits. Here are some other uses of phone messaging and texting. A patient s private lab results can be accessed with a PIN 24 hours a day Recorded messages can remind patients of annual exams or special treatments Customer retention can be improved with pre and post care instructions Brief messages like appointment reminders are ideal for text Birthday greetings by text are part of the new strategy for customer relationship management Announcements covering the arrival of new providers and new service areas Email: Today, many people rely on email as their primary communication method. Doctors have expressed caution over discussing detailed information in email due to HIPAA privacy issues, but there are more ways to use email. Another benefit is that many people use their smartphones for email as much or more than calling. These are some of the ways email can best be used in practice. Reduce printing costs and improve patient perception of a doctor s availability with an email notification that a prescription is available Detailed prescription information by email can Allowing patients to submit prescription refill requests is an ideal use of email Questions from patients can be answered as time becomes available, freeing up operational bottlenecks Email communications are self-documenting, which is a great advantage from a legal standpoint Confirm appointment times for improved patient arrival rates Better prepare patients for the upcoming appointments with detailed advice Remind patients of missed payments and overdue balances 3

Social Media Many doctors and nurses avoid dealing with social media because they perceive these channels as time-intensive and unprofessional. However, social networks have proven to be very effective for answering general questions and distributing health reminders quickly and efficiently. Here are some more specific uses. Alerts and announcements such as the availability of flu shots reach more patients quickly Twitter is ideal for answering general business or practice wide questions Social media is a good communication channel to keep patients aware of symptoms that are not emergencies and how to handle them Doctors can correct false information circulating online and establish their authority in certain fields Facebook can distribute detailed articles on specific health issues and when it is necessary to contact a doctor 4

Impact of Improved Communications A recent healthcare communication study by the Rand Corporation found that better use of health information technology could save millions of dollars and thousands of lives. Greater efficiency in both inpatient and outpatient care has the potential to save healthcare providers $77 billion over the first year. The savings would be realized from reduced administrative costs, better communication of patient safety information, about us PhoneTree has provided organizations with cost-effective and reliable automated patient communication for nearly 25 years. Through phone, text and email, our HealthWave Connect solution makes it easy to contact patients with their personalized information for upcoming and missed appointments, lab results, past-due balances, recalls, and more. PhoneTree values the individual needs of a practice and helps them promote that same customization into their patient communication. and more accurate use of prescriptions by patients and more effective scheduling of appointments. Alerts from an automated system could eliminate 200,000 adverse drug interactions, with an annual saving of approximately $1 billion for US hospitals. Reminders about screening tests and vaccinations could have an enormous impact on public health and disease prevention. In combination with improved communications on disease management, these procedures could prevent between 15,000 and 27,000 deaths from pneumonia among a host of other common illnesses. The medical practice is one of the most dynamic of professions with new advances in technology and science changing the landscape constantly. Doctors faced with keeping current on medical knowledge need to find time through productivity advances. At the same time, doctors need to run a business with an eye on lowering costs and increasing revenue so they can continue to serve the widest pool of patients. Fortunately, communication is one area where substantial savings can be realized quickly while boosting their quality of care just by better use of existing communications technology. 5